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"The U.S. occupation
troops shot dead my brother on purpose, although he was wearing his
press badge, which was also emblazoned on the car he was driving,"
he said.

He also recalled that
his brother had obtained a prior permit from the U.S. occupation authorities
in Iraq to film in the site.

On Sunday, August 17,
U.S. troops shot dead the award-winning Reuters cameraman while he was
filming near the U.S.-run Abu Gharib prison in Baghdad.

His last pictures show
a U.S. tank driving toward him outside the prison walls, several shots
ring out from the tank and the camera falls to the ground.

Mass Grave

"Mazen told me by
phone few days before his death that he discovered a mass grave dug
by U.S. troops to conceal the bodies of their fellow comrades killed
in Iraqi resistance attacks," Nazmi said.

"He also told me
that he found U.S. troops covered in plastic bags in remote desert areas
and he filmed them for a TV program. We are pretty sure that the American
forces had killed Mazen knowingly to prevent him from airing his findings."

Nazmi said that the U.S.
occupation troops were slowing down the transfer of his brother's body
to his hometown city of Al-Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank.

"At the very beginning,
the Americans refused to transfer his body outside Iraq. After Reuters
intervened they offered to allow us to take the body to Jordan by road
but we refused because of the state of insecurity in Iraq," he
said.

"Thanks to Reuters
international and diplomatic contacts, the U.S. troops reluctantly agreed
to transfer the body on an army plane to Kuwait. From there, the body
will be flown to Jordan and finally Palestine to be laid to rest,"
added the grieved brother.

Last Mission

Mazen's wife, Umm Hamza,
did not rule out that the U.S. troops targeted her husband personally,
noting they had agreed to give him a permit to film Abu Gharib prison
and then he was directly shot dead by two U.S. tanks.

Resolved as she was,
Umm Hamza said the death of her husband came as a bombshell, especially
that she expected him to be killed while covering the developments in
Palestine for his bravery and rare heroism.

"Filming Abu Gharib
was his last mission; he was scheduled to leave Baghdad after getting
the job done.

"I lost the dearest
man to my heart, he was caring and was loved by all his friends and
relatives," she lamented.

Settlers' Enemy

Mazen's camera was the
Israeli settlers' archenemy, given that he exposed to the entire world
their terrorism against the Palestinians and their wildcat outposts
sprawling in four Al-Khalil posts.

His death cast a pall
of sadness over the Palestinian territories and reporters, who mourned
him as "a matchless colleague."

All international and
local news agencies sent cables of condolences to his family, lauding
his patriotism and determination to uncover the truth wherever it was.

The Palestinian information
ministry and press syndicate issued two separate statements, condemning
the attack on Mazen and the continued targeting of journalists.

The two statements demanded
the U.S. to show some respect for human beings, particularly reporters,
pointing out that Mazen was a distinguished journalist who did his best
to serve his country and cause.

The ministry further
urged all Arab and international press unions "to open a probe
into this crime and expose to the entire world the murderers who have
blood on their hands and put them on trial."

Colleagues Mourn

Furthermore, dozens of
Palestinian journalists protested on Tuesday morning in Al-Khalil at
the killing of Mazen.

The marchers put on a
peaceful demonstration from the House of the Palestinian Press established
by the deceased and other journalists.

In Bethlehem, journalists
also held a mock funeral for Mazen, denouncing the U.S. occupation of
Iraq and displaying placards condemning his "assassination."

A U.S. military inquiry
has recently exonerated an American tank crew for firing on a Baghdad
hotel housing journalists, killing two foreign reporters and wounded
three others.

The American army admitted
yesterday that its soldiers killed an award-winning Reuters cameraman.
Mazen Dana, a Palestinian, was shot dead by a US tank crew at close
range while trying to film outside Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison on Sunday,
after a mortar attack on the prison.

The Americans claimed
that the soldiers mistook the camera Mr Dana was holding for a rocket-propelled
grenade launcher - a claim that was immediately
rejected by journalists who witnessed the killing.

"We
were all there, for at least half an hour. They knew we were journalists,"
said Stephan Breitner of France 2 television. "After they shot
Mazen, they aimed their guns at us. I don't think it was an accident.
They are very tense. They are crazy. They are young soldiers and they
don't understand what is happening."

Mr Dana's driver, Munzer
Abbas, said: "There were many journalists
around. They knew we were journalists. This was not an accident."

Mr Dana's colleagues
said the tank was 30 metres from him when it opened fire. Television
cameras do not look like RPG launchers: at such close range it should
have been impossible to confuse the two.

A senior US Army spokesman
offered condolences to Mr Dana's family, but said soldiers would not
fire warning shots when they believed they were under threat. Lt-Col
Guy Shields said: "I can't give you details on the rules of engagement,
but the enemy is not in formations, they are not wearing uniforms. During
wartime, firing a warning shot is not a necessity. There is no time
for a warning shot if there is potential for an ambush."

The Reuters team had
identified themselves to American soldiers guarding the perimeter of
the prison, and they had been given permission to film. Nael al-Shyouki,
a Reuters soundman working with Mr Dana, said: "After we filmed,
we went into the car and prepared to go when a convoy led by a tank
arrived and Mazen stepped out of the car to film. I followed him and
Mazen walked three to four metres. We were noted and seen clearly."
He said the American soldiers "saw us and they knew about our identities
and mission".

Mr Shyouki described
the killing: "A soldier on the tank shot at us. I lay on the ground.
I heard Mazen and I saw him scream and touching his chest. I cried at
the soldier, telling him, 'you killed a journalist'. They shouted at
me and asked me to step back and I said, 'I will step back but please
help, please help and stop the bleed'."

The soldiers did try
to help but could do nothing. "Mazen took a last breath and died
before my eyes," said Mr Shyouki. The 43-year-old cameraman leaves
a wife and four children. "He was supposed to be going home today,"
a Reuters colleague said yesterday.

Mr Dana is the second
Reuters cameraman to be killed by US forces in Baghdad. Taras Protsyuk,
a Ukrainian, died when a tank fired a shell into the Hotel Palestine,
which was full of journalists, as Baghdad was falling. In both cases,
witnesses accused the US of knowingly killing a journalist.

Mr Dana was no novice
in war zones. His hometown, Hebron in the West Bank, is a dangerous
place. In 2001, he won the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) International
Press Freedom Award for his work in Hebron. He was shot three times
in 2000.

Reuters, the CPJ and
Reporters Sans Frontières in Paris called on the American military
to conduct a full inquiry into Mr Dana's death.

Dana, a veteran conflict
cameraman for Reuters news agency, was killed by machine gun fire from
a U.S. tank near the capital, Baghdad. Dana was struck in the torso
while filming near Abu Ghraib Prison, outside Baghdad, in the afternoon.
He had been reporting with a colleague near the prison after a mortar
attack had killed six Iraqis there the previous night. The
soldier in the tank who fired on Dana did so without warning,
while the journalist filmed the vehicle approaching him from about 55
yards (50 meters).

U.S. military officials
said the soldier who opened fire mistook Dana's camera for a rocket-propelled
grenade (RPG) launcher. There was no fighting taking place in the area,
and the journalists had been operating in the
vicinity of the prison with the knowledge of U.S. troops near the prison
gates.

In an August 18 letter
to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, CPJ protested the shooting,
stating that it raised "serious questions about the conduct of
U.S. troops and their rules of engagement."

On September 22, the
U.S. military announced that it had concluded its investigation into
the incident.
A spokesman for the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) in Iraq told CPJ
that while Dana's killing was "regrettable," the
soldiers "acted within the rules of engagement."
No further details were provided. The results of the investigation have
not been made public. A Centcom spokesman said other details of the
report are classified.

Dana's soundman, Nael
Shyioukhi, who witnessed the incident, told CPJ that he and Dana arrived
at the prison with their driver, Munzer Abbas, in the late afternoon.
According to Shyioukhi, several journalists were also in the area. Shyioukhi
said that after a short while Dana suggested that they approach the
prison gates to begin filming. At one point,
Dana identified himself to a U.S. soldier as a journalist from Reuters
and asked if a spokesman was available to comment on camera about the
attack the previous night. The soldier replied that he could
not comment, and no spokesmen were available. Dana then asked the soldier
if he and Shyioukhi could film the prison from a nearby bridge. According
to Shyioukhi, the soldier politely told them they were welcome to do
so.

After filming from the
bridge, located between 330 and 660 yards (300 and 600 meters) from
the prison, Dana and Shyioukhi, who were wearing jeans and T-shirts,
packed their equipment in their car and began to head off for the Reuters
office. As they approached the main road to the prison, Dana noticed
a convoy of tanks approaching and told Abbas to stop so he could film
it. According to Shyioukhi, he and Dana were not apprehensive because
the area was calm, and it was apparent that U.S. troops were in complete
control. Neither Dana nor Shyioukhi were wearing flak jackets, and their
car was not marked press.

Dana exited the car and
set up his blue, canvas-encased camera with a white microphone facing
the tanks while Shyioukhi lit a cigarette. Shyioukhi
said Dana filmed for about 10 seconds, when suddenly, without warning,
several shots rang out from the lead tank, which was approximately 55
yards (50 meters) away.

Shyioukhi ducked for
cover then heard Dana scream and place his hand on his stomach, which
was bleeding profusely. He said that within moments of the shooting,
approximately six U.S. soldiers, including
the one who shot Dana, surrounded them. Shyioukhi recounted
that the soldier who shot Dana screamed at
Shyioukhi to "stand back."

A doctor arrived on an
armored personnel carrier (APC) after about 10 minutes and tried to
stop the bleeding. The APC took Dana back to the prison complex for
treatment and to get him evacuated to a hospital.

U.S. military spokesman
Col. Guy Shields called Dana's death a "tragic incident" and
promised to do everything to avoid a similar incident in the future.
When questioned by London's Independent about the rules of engagement
for U.S. troops, Shields said, "I can't give you details on the
rules of engagement, but the enemy is not in formations, they are not
wearing uniforms. During wartime firing a warning
shot is not a necessity. There is no time for a warning shot
if there is there is potential for an ambush."

Some journalists at the
scene questioned how troops could mistake the camera for a weapon. And
according to experts who train war correspondents, although one might
easily mistake a camera for an RPG launcher at a distance, a camera
would be clearly visible from 55 to 110 yards (50 to 100 meters)the
distance at which Dana was hit.

(In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving
the included information for research and educational purposes.)

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WITH WHICH TVOTW WAS CONCEIVED AND BUILT UPON
RESIDES WITH THE FOLLOWING EVERLASTING PRINCIPLE

- "LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS" -

______________________________________________

"IF
YOU WANT OTHERS TO BE HAPPY, PRACTICE COMPASSION. IF YOU WANT TO BE
HAPPY, PRACTICE COMPASSION."

- DALAI LAMA -

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"YOU
NEVER KNOW WHAT THE OUTCOME IS - BUT THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS THE BEST PLACE
TO START"

- JULIAN ASSANGE -

______________________________________________

-
FAMOUS QUOTE -

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beings are the only creatures on earth that claim a God - and the only
living thing that behaves like it hasn't got one."